No, not the Mystery of the Missing Onion! I'm afraid that one's gone the way of Amelia Earhart. This is the Mystery of Why Our Newly Arrived Children Get Hysterical When Mommy Goes to the Doctor.
Flash back to November 2007. Rene had been with us for nearly 4 months and I'd been back at work for about six weeks. Rene was happy, secure, and loved his babysitter, his college student cousin Mike who came to our house every day. On that day in November I took the day off but asked Mike to come by for a short time so that I could go to an eye doctor appointment.
Upon hearing that Mommy was going to the doctor, Rene became hysterical, not wanting me to leave. When I returned, Mike told me Rene spent the entire time lying under a bench in our sunroom, crying inconsolably and rocking back and forth. Over the years David and I have shared theories as to Rene's baffling and one-time behavior, but we never knew for sure why he was so upset.
Tonight I told Leah May that I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning. She too became quite upset, sobbing harder than we've seen from her since we were in the Philippines. At first we thought maybe she didn't want to be left alone with David and Rene, so David and I reluctantly agreed that we would all go to the doctor's office. That seemed to cheer her up, but the hysterics started again when we told Leah May that only Mommy could actually see the doctor, and that she, Rene and Daddy would stay in the waiting room.
Not wanting to wrestle with a hysterical child in a busy waiting room, David suggested that I call our friend Nyllaine, who spent the day with us in Cebu last month. We let Leah May talk to Nyllaine on the phone, and then Nyllaine explained that Leah May thought I would be gone for a long, long time.
Why didn't we think of this before? Both Leah May and Rene had probably never had proper doctor visits until their visa medical appointments in Manila. From Rene and Leah May's perspective, doctor's appointments take place in far-off cities and then result in getting on a plane, leaving home and going somewhere new forever. At the very least, their idea of a doctor's appointment was probably a day-long affair, not a quick 45-minute visit.
So at last we think we've solved our 3-year mystery. Thanks Nyllaine! Now that we're on a roll, I'm sure the onion will turn up any day now.
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It's wild, some of the ideas kids can get into their heads. When Jon was about eight or so, one time before Mass the parish administrator of the time smiled and said hello and we had a quick chat--I don't remember about what; probably something to do with the newsletter--and he got it in his head she was going to steal me from his mom. This despite her husband being right there, and she being, oh, ten years my senior more or less...
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